Aerial: an ad-free, tvOS-style launcher for Xiaomi and TCL TVs

What Aerial is

Aerial was created on October 20, 2026 and is MIT licensed; its package name is app.orchard.tv. It shows your favourite apps in one row on a glass shelf with every app below, folders, a Control Center (inputs, network, settings, volume, brightness), Apple TV’s aerial films as a screensaver, Bing’s photo of the day or your own photos as wallpaper, and no recommendation feeds or ads. It does not root the TV or touch system apps; your apps, accounts and memberships stay, and the old home screen stays in the app list.

Its handoff notes credit the CleanYourTV repository (then tv-vibehack) for device lists and the Xiaomi MFTR0 input notes that Aerial’s input routing follows.

Which TVs Aerial supports

Android TV 5.0 or newer. Not supported: LG, Samsung, Huawei Vision and Android 4.4 or older. The README’s tested list, summarised:

Brand guides on this site: Xiaomi and Redmi, TCL, Skyworth and Coocaa, Hisense.

Step 1: Turn on ADB on a China-market TV

The first connection shows an “allow debugging” prompt on the TV: choose Always allow.

Step 2: Install Aerial from GitHub releases

Download the APK from the latest Aerial release on GitHub. Each release has two builds:

• aerial-standard.apk declares itself as a home screen; for TVs that accept home-screen apps (Xiaomi, stock Android TV).
• aerial-guard.apk has no home intent and takes over only through Home Guard; for firmware that refuses third-party launchers, such as TCL.

The README’s by-hand install, with the standard APK and your TV’s IP:

adb connect 192.168.1.20:5555
adb install -r aerial-standard.apk
adb shell pm grant app.orchard.tv android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS
adb shell cmd notification allow_listener app.orchard.tv/app.orchard.tv.guard.RevivalListener
adb shell appops set app.orchard.tv SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW allow
adb shell am start -n app.orchard.tv/.MainActivity

The project also offers an install prompt for AI coding agents and a one-line macOS/Linux installer; both are in its README. Brand notes from the install guide:

• TCL refuses every adb install (INSTALL_FAILED_VERIFICATION_FAILURE). Aerial goes on through the TV’s own 多屏互动 (screen sharing) service, guard build only: press Right, then OK, to choose 同意 (Agree) on the prompt.
• Skyworth: if install fails with INSTALL_FAILED_USER_RESTRICTED, the guide sets verifier_verify_adb_installs to 0 for the install and puts it back afterwards (from a user report).
• Xiaomi turns ADB off after standby; the installer’s KEEP_ADB=1 lets Aerial turn it back on so you can update later.

From version 1.32, Control Center shows New Version and can download and install updates through the TV’s own installer.

How Aerial takes over at boot

On stock Android TV Aerial is simply set as the default home screen. Most TVs sold in China only accept their own home screen and clear third-party apps in standby, so Aerial runs an accessibility service, Home Guard, that switches back whenever the stock home appears (the README says it only checks which window is in front), and a notification listener so the system restarts it after a kill (it reads no notifications). On Xiaomi, PatchWall (com.mitv.tvhome) still shows as the resolved home; the guide says that is expected and never to disable it.

How to undo Aerial

The project’s restore command (macOS/Linux) puts the TV back; adding --uninstall removes Aerial too. On Windows the install guide’s Undo section lists the adb commands one by one: revoke its permissions and listener, remove it from the Home role and from the accessibility services list, restore the default screensaver, then adb uninstall app.orchard.tv. Because the stock home was never disabled, pressing Home goes straight back to it.

Known Aerial issues

• The boot ad stays: the firmware plays it before Aerial starts.
• Stock home first at power-on for a few seconds on Redmi (#298) and a long wait on Hisense (#119); a cold boot can stay on PatchWall on the Xiaomi MTEQ0 (#154). All open.
• TCL black screen after standby, fixed only by unplugging (#132, open).
• Home Guard’s key filter can add about 400 ms to a single arrow press in some video apps (#115, open).
• Wireless-debugging-only TVs (FFALCON 55S595C Ultra, MT9655): adb cannot be authorised, so Aerial installs but cannot take over Home.

CleanYourTV vs Free My TV vs Aerial

Aerial leaves the stock home and its services running underneath; CleanYourTV is the one that disables ad and telemetry packages, and its Xiaomi and TCL lists include China-market sets. None of the repositories documents running Aerial and CleanYourTV together. See also Free My TV and all alternatives.

Aerial questions